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A 9,000-Pound Tank That’s Faster Than a Ferrari

After drones took over the skies, Ripsaw is now taking control over land. Ripsaw is the world’s fastest tracked vehicle produced by Howe & Howe Technologies in Maine. Unlike other unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), which are slow, Ripsaw can accelerate to 65 mph in about 3 seconds. By comparison, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta can accelerate to 62 mph in 3.1 seconds.

This revolutionary tracked vehicle can take significant combat damage as it has Alloy Steel Tubing in its hull that provides it structural strength and reliability. This fastest tank weighs about 9,000 pounds and can carry about 2,000 pounds of payload. In addition to this, Ripsaw provides full situation awareness to the operator as it uses multiple cameras to gain continuous, 360-degree coverage.

MS1 unmanned ground vehicles and the MS2 manned models are the two variants of Ripsaw. MS2 is bigger, faster and more modular than the MS1. A fully-equipped version of MS2 will cost around $750,000 while MS1 without personnel cockpits may only cost $200,000.

MS2 can be easily controlled remotely or operated by a driver and a crewman. When damaged by a mine blast or IEDs, it could be cannibalized in the field and can be assembled into a fully-capable vehicle overnight.

Ripsaw, made from tough alloy steel, is very quick and agile and could be used for perimeter defense, surveillance, rescue, border patrol, crowd control and explosive ordnance disposal roles.

Nidhi Goyal

Nidhi is a gold medalist Post Graduate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. You can also find Nidhi on Google+.